I waited for my brake light to come on, and the car went another 10k miles beyond what I was told to expect at the dealership. I didn't have to change brakes until 40k miles.

 

Hi Sarah,

I wished I had read this earlier. I am the original owner of a 2001 C240 6 speed and just changed my front brakes and rotors at 86,500 miles. I also changed my rear brakes and rotors that still had half a pad left. Approximately one half of my miles are from highway driving. The hardest part was getting the old rotors loose. I purchased all my parts for about $250 from a local automotive chain who ordered OEM brand name replacement parts. Everything went together great. It took me about 4.5 hours, as I said the hardest was loosening the rusted on rotors, thanks to the help of this forums advice. I just changed, at 89,000 miles, my front upper and lower control arms, all 4 ball joints, that cost < $500 from the Internet and are Febi replacement parts. The only hard part was to cut off the locking nut. This job took a full day. I did get a 4 wheel alignment from a good garage, not a dealership, after this job.
I change my oil and filter about every 10,000 miles and use Mobil-1 as this is the original oil. The new extended Mobil-1 oil claims it can go 15,000 miles. As you have found out don't trust all dealers. Some are less honest than others. Take care and good luck.

Bill

 

Hi all. I just bought an 04 C230 with about 22000 miles on it and about three weeks ago the brake light/message came on. I've just purchased a set of OEM pad for the front and rear. When I tried to have them changed by a friend he said that there was a pin that was holding the pad in place and he couldn't get the old pads off. He said that the outside pads looked fine but he didn't check the inside pads. Is there a special tool used to remove the old pads?

Supposedly MB states that the stock pads for the C230K are only good for about 15,000 miles and when I bought the car the rotors had rust on them from being outside so long, I'm thinking that the dealer drove around with the brakes to clean the rotors. Damn used car salesmen!

 

IF YOUR DOING DAILY CITY TRAFFIC I WOULD RECOMEND EBC GREENSTUFF IT EXCEEDS OEM RECOMENDATIONS AND HAS A LOW DUST DROP ON YOUR WHEELS, THEY ARE UNDER 75.00$ AND I SUGGEST YOU BUY THEM THROUGH A RETAILER OR ONLINE AND HAVE THEM PUT ON BY A BRAKE SPECIALIST WITH CERTIFIED MECHANICS SO THAT YOUR WARRANTY IS HONORED THIS WILL SAVE YOU AT LEAST 500.00 OFF YOUR QUOTE.

 

Nick,

I did my 2001 C240 brakes a month ago. On my caliper there is a pin that holds a spring that keeps the pads in the caliper. I used a small drift pin and small hammer to gently tap it out. You should be able to tell which way to drive it out when you're looking at it. I'm pretty sure it only goes one direction. I then wire brushed it before I installed the new pads. Getting the rotors off was the hardest. I used a hammer but I got a 4 wheel alignment after the job was completed.

Good luck,
Bill

 

Yah i just purchased myself some low dust, front pads and sensors for $$64. ( :